Betrayal
by hdubs
Summary: Warning: this is not a happy story.  Oneshot.  Duncan never comes to Highever to recruit, so the Cousland daughter experiences Howe's atrocities firsthand.  Could be considered somewhat AU.  BioWare owns Dragon Age.


Kalissa Cousland rushed to bar the larder door, tearing apart several of the shelves in the process. Jax, her Mabari, helped drag several bags and crates her way. They needed time, and the door had to hold if they were to have any chance at escape.

She turned back to her parents, and the sight of her father lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood made her want to retch and burst into tears at the same time. It took every ounce of willpower in her body to maintain some semblance of composure.

"Can you walk, father?" Kalissa asked as she rushed to her father's side. Her mother had done her best to patch him up, and Kalissa made him use all the health poultices from her pack, but he still looked weak and pale. His grey eyes, which usually twinkled with love and joy, were now dull and glazed.

"Pup," he whispered quietly, "you have to get out."

"I will not leave my family!" Kalissa snapped, barely keeping her emotions in check. She immediately regretted her tone and her stomach twisted with guilt.

She heard the sound of several armored boots running toward the larder door, and not soon after, the loud snaps of claw traps resonated in the kitchen walls, followed by the angry and pained screams of men. _How ironic,_ Kalissa thought, _that I had just learned how to make traps earlier today._

"We have to leave," Kalissa motioned to her parents, "now!" The two Cousland women hoisted up the Teyrn and moved, as quickly as they could, to the servant's door. Jax followed close behind.

The voices behind the larder door were louder now, and angrier; someone begun to take an axe to the door. At least two dozen men outside, Kalissa guessed, maybe more. That meant that Ser Gilmore could not hold the main gate. That meant that Rory was, in all likelihood…

Kalissa let out a small sob for Rory, her protector and her best friend, but she could not afford, could not bear to think about him now. She needed to get out, needed to get her parents away from this massacre. Beyond the door, through the tunnel, down the hill, then follow the river until…

She barely had the door halfway open when a giant stone hurtled out of the darkness and struck her square in the chest. Kalissa flew backwards, carried by the inertia of the boulder, and crashed into the cold stone of the far wall with a sickening thud.

"They're in the tunnel," her mother gasped, "We're trapped."

She could taste the metallic blood in her mouth as she collapsed to the floor, crying out in pain. It became harder and harder for her to breathe. _Get up,_ she told herself, _get your blades and protect your family._ But darkness began to creep into the periphery of her vision, and her body refused to listen. A stream of Howe's men began to pour into the larder, blades drawn and bows taut. Jax leaped onto the first man he saw and quickly tore out his throat, then fought feverishly to defend his mistress. But Jax had not the strength to fight them all, and he eventually fell, injured and whimpering.

"Bryce and Eleanor Cousland, the Teyrn and Teyrna of Highever," a voice taunted, "and their daughter, Kalissa. Heal them in the kitchen; I don't want them dying just yet."

Kalissa wanted to cradle Jax in her arms and to tell him that she loved him, but rough hands grabbed her arms and legs and picked her up before she could reach her Mabari. She tried to struggle against them but could barely find the strength to keep breathing. Howe's men then threw her on the kitchen table and held her down. Suddenly, she was bathed in a warm blue light; the pressure on her chest was relieved and she gasped for air.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother and father being tied to a column, and nearby, with a cruel smile on his face and a gleaming dagger in his hand, stood Arl Rendon Howe.

"Howe, you bastard! I'll see you hanged for this!" Kalissa thrashed with all her might, but she could not break away from the men holding her down.

Howe simply laughed, a laughter filled with venom. "Your daughter was always fiery, Bryce, but that is so unbecoming of a lady."

"Please, Rendon," pleaded the Teyrn, "please, show mercy. My daughter…"

Howe laughed again, almost a cackle this time. "Bryce, I have no intention of killing your daughter. I am a very merciful man. And of course, I will also show mercy to your wife," he continued as he turned to the Teyrna, "I have always been fond of Eleanor."

With that, Howe brought the dagger to the Teyrna's neck and quickly dragged it across her throat. Kalissa screamed in terror and fury, and felt the room start to spin. She watched in horror as the blood spilled forth in a torrent and her mother's eyes slowly grew dim. Kalissa's heart twisted in pain, and her whole body shook in grief.

"Was that not a merciful death, Bryce?" Howe paced around the middle of the kitchen, arms raised as if victorious in battle. "I felt it was a _very_ merciful death," he continued, voice full of malice, "but as for your daughter…" Howe turned to the men holding Kalissa and gave them a nod. With that, the soldiers began to unbuckle her armor.

Kalissa's eyes grew wide in fear. "No!" She bucked wildly, trying to get away. "Get your filthy hands off of me!" She managed to kick one of them square in the jaw, but a thick arm quickly reached out and squeezed her throat until she saw spots. Gasping for breath, she could not resist the men stripping her and tying her down.

"Don't squeeze too much!" Howe pushed the soldier away, "I want her fully conscious for this."

"Please, Rendon," Bryce begged, tears streaming down his face, "you have the castle already. Please…"

"Bryce, you still don't understand," Howe mused as he eyed Kalissa's body, "I am here to take what is mine. I am tired of doing all the work while you get all the glory! You and everything you love will be destroyed tonight." Howe ran a hand down Kalissa's body and she recoiled in fear and disgust. "Do you know how I will do that?" He paced back to the Teyrn and continued, "I will make you watch me take your daughter as you die."

Bryce strained uselessly at the ropes, and then his body heaved violently as he began to sob. "Kalissa…" he whispered, "Maker help us…" The once confident and noble Teyrn of Highever was now a broken husk.

Howe laughed like a madman and sank his dagger, slowly, into the Teyrn's chest. Bryce groaned in pain and Kalissa felt her heart break into a million pieces. His hands were on her again – groping, molesting – and she cried out in anguish. He violated and harassed her, and she could hear her father's pained breaths and weak sobs. He stretched her and pushed into her, breaking her along the way, and she screamed in pain. He pounded and wracked her body, and all Kalissa could do was to dive deeper and deeper into herself until she ceased to feel. He grunted and moaned and spilled himself inside her. Finally it stopped, and he left the kitchen.

Silence.

One of Howe's men cut her bonds and helped her sit up. He spoke to her softly and caressed her dark hair to comfort her, but Kalissa was already lost. He carefully wrapped her in a blanket and carried her out of the castle.


End file.
